The Response to Those Who Describe Scholars as Agents and the Types of Khawarij

The questioner:
The questioner says: May Allah reward you, O our Shaykh. Allah knows that I love you for the sake of Allah. My question is that in our time, scholars are frequently classified into multiple groups, and they are frequently disparaged, to the point that some say the scholars are agents of the state. What is your guidance? May Allah reward you. The second question says: Cursing the Imam, the one in authority, in his presence and in his absence, and spreading his faults, is this considered rebellion against him? And is that considered one of the demonstrations?

The Shaykh:
There is no doubt that apostasy occurs through speech, through belief, and through action. Apostasy comes in different forms, and the Khawarij are of different types. The one who holds the belief of the Khawarij is a Khariji by his belief, even if he did not go out, even if he did not take up arms, even if he did not… The one who utters the call of the Khawarij is also a Khariji by his speech; his speech testifies to that. So whoever departs from the sound methodology is among the people of misguidance.

The questioner:
And the one who describes the scholars as agents.

The Shaykh:
To the scholars, and praise be to Allah, Muslims trust them, seek their fatwas, and learn from them, and these [accusations] do not affect them. They want to slip our hands from our religion, from our scholars, and from the blessing that Allah has given us. They want to slip our hands from it.